Category Archives: Hauls

Most of you will know that I put myself on a no buy until I reached my target of 100 empties; with the exception of a few purchases of new releases, limited edition items or massive sales. Even though I knew it wouldn’t be a complete no buy I still feel as though I failed massively. Now that I have reached my target, for details you will have to see my May empties and lipstick sample decluttering post coming soon, I thought I would show you all the products I bought during my ‘no buy’ and tell you a little bit about why I made those purchases and whether I regret them.

Wet ‘n’ Wild Photofocus foundation in Porcelain £15.99 ~ This was the first product that I broke my no buy for. For those wondering, I do live in the UK and therefore have to purchase Wet ‘n’ Wild products off of Amazon. I haven’t owned any products from this brand before as you can’t get it easily. However, I knew I had to get my hands on this foundation after it received a holy grail status in some many peoples’ collections. I picked the shade based on Jeffree Star’s video and its a good match for me. I haven’t used it that much but I do think it lasts on the skin well and has good coverage.

Wet N Wild MegaGlo Contouring palette in Dulce de Leche £9.48 ~ This is a real regret of mine. I thought it looked great online but it is chalky and the contour shade is difficult to blend out on my cheeks. I don’t think I will be using this much.

Colourpop order #1 – £40.29:

Pressed powder duo in Double Play ~ The ‘blush’ in this duo is a bronzer on me but that is why I bought it. I really love this duo. The pigmentation, the shades and the price point make it an incredible product. Congrats Colourpop, another amazing launch.

Ultra Blotted lip in Doozy ~ This is a new formula gives your lips a beautiful tint for summer. Out of the entire collection there were only two shades that I wanted: Doozy and Zuma. At the time I made this order Zuma was out of stock (but as you will see later I got that one too). I love this new product from Colourpop, I think they did a really great job with the colour range and formula; its very unique.

Super Shock cheek in Prenup ~ I have worn this and I like how the shade turned out on my skin. I just regret picking this up because I only did it to match the minimum for free shipping exactly, I didn’t intend to buy it.

This order in total was $30 and the rest was VAT. I made the order at that point in time because the free shipping got reduced from when you spend $50 to $30. Overall I would say that the only one I am not 100% content with having purchased during my no buy is the blush. The other two products I am obsessed with, so 2/3 were good purchases for me.

BH Cosmetics x Carli Bybel original palette £18.00 ~ This finally was released on the BeautyBay websiteand I had been wanting it since it first released years ago. The release of the new deluxe addition palette is what spurred on this purchase. As the original palette is going to be discontinued! I prefer the size of this palette far more to the deluxe one, so I decided to pick this up before it is gone for good.

Melt Cosmetics order – £71.96:

Digital Dust Highlighter in Stargazer and Gold Ore ~ This was a very expensive order but I had never purchased anything from Melt Cosmetics before. However, this launch took over Instagram and I ended up buying it on the train the day of the launch. Stargazer is my favourite of the two as it gives such a beautiful peachy icy glow, where as gold ore is a true gold better suited to medium + skin tones. It just means I have to apply it very sheer it order to make that particular shade work for my skin tone.

Anastasia Beverly Hills x Nicole Guerriero highlighter palette £39.00 ~ The photo below explains the reasoning behind this purchase. It is so stunning. As soon as I saw it was in stock on the ABH UK website and that there was free shipping, I knew it was meant to be. Every shade is pigmented, the pans are a good size and the packaging is beautiful. Nicole did an amazing job and I highly recommend this palette.

Tarte cosmetics order #1 – £63.60:

Lip facial lip scrub ~ I was so excited for this because it is a lip scrub in a lip crayon form. I have been using this…and I am obsessed. When I run out I will immediately repurchase. If like me you don’t like sticking your fingers in a pot of lip scrub, this is perfect and easy to use. Check it out and I promise you won’t regret it.

Travel size brighter days highlighting moisturiser ~ I wanted the full size of this for so long but it is constantly out of stock, so I picked up the smaller size.

Tarte mother nature’s miracles discovery set ~ This included a mini colour splash lipstick in ‘Island Life’, a 15ml Maracuja oil, a mini lights, camera, lashes mascara, a 30ml Rainforest of the Sea Marine Boosting mist, a 50ml Rainforest of the Sea deep dive cleansing gel, 1 pack of under eye patches and a mini amazonian clay blush in ‘feisty’. These kits are a great way to try out lots of products for a great price.

Tarte cosmetics order #2 – £60.00:

Custom kit – Purple makeup bag, amazonian clay blush in celebrated, gifted mascara, tarteist quick dry matte lip paint in festival, bamboo contour brush, empowered hybrid gel foundation in fair-light neutral and lights, camera, lashes precision longwear liner in black (£50.00 + £10.00 tax) ~ This was far too good a promotion to miss. You got 7 full size products in the kit for £50.00. I love Tarte products and at the time wanted to add more to my collection. This is definitely becoming one of my favourite brands.

Colourpop order #2 – £61.05:

Gemini by Night palette ~ This was the only product that I picked up from the Sonya Esman x Colourpop collection. It has stunning shades and Colourpop’s single shadow formula is incredible with an enormous shade range. The launch of this collection was what prompted this order and I don’t regret purchasing this palette.

Ultra Blotted lip in Zuma ~ This was the shade of the Ultra blotted lip that I was going to purchase in my first Colourpop order but it was sold out then. I am super happy that this restocked because it is such a beautiful shade. Get your hands on it as soon as you can!

Pressed Shadows in Pretty Cruel, Flower boy, Bouquet Toss, Team Captain, Say I do and Too Much ~ When you purchased 3 shadows, they became $3.33 each due to a promotion that was going on. Therefore, I decided to pick up all the shades that were originally in the Valentine’s day collection duos (I didn’t buy that collection) that I wanted and one shade that I don’t own anything like. That singular shade is ‘Team Captain’, its a beautiful khaki green shade. I don’t have any shadows that colour so I bought it to experiment with that tone of shadow.

Free Liquid lip minis in Frick n Frack, Dopey and Strip ~ Yet another great promotion that Colourpop had on at the time, every time your order reached a certain amount you were able to choose a free liquid lip mini. These are all shades that I have really wanted to try out so I am super excited to see what they look like on the lips.

Wet N Wild MegaGlow Highlighting Powder in Precious Petals £11.99 ~ I saw this for sale on Amazon and for the first time it was ridiculously priced (I have seen it for over £60 no joke). This is a super hyped up product, so since it was reduced I thought I would try it. This is such a beautiful highlighter, so I highly recommend you pick it up if it is in stock near you.

MAC Fruity Juicy collection limited edition lipstick in Calm Heat £16.50 ~ Babsbeauty showed this on her Snapchat and I fell in love. It is a truly beautiful nude lipstick and the packaging is gorgeous, this is a purchase I do not regret.

NYX Bright Idea illuminating stick in Pearl Pink Lace £7.50 ~ This was a completely random buy, which made it a regret. The product itself is really nice, I just wish I hadn’t purchased it during my no buy. It gives your cheeks a nice light pink glow and the colour range in the store was really good. This range also includes highlighters and bronzers as well as blushes.

Maybelline Dream Cushion foundation in 01 Natural Ivory £13.99 ~ This was the final product that I purchased during my first ‘no buy’ period and it was because I wanted to try and cushion foundation but didn’t want to pay the high end price tag during the no buy. It was difficult to choose between this and the L’Oreal one but this just had such good reviews and was £1 cheaper at the time. I have used this a few times and I really like it, the coverage is good and it lasts quite well on the skin considering the type of product.

All these products in aggregate come to a disgusting £429.35. With each small purchase, it didn’t feel like it had come to that amount. I am genuinely shocked at how little restraint I have shown. Well my no buy is over and won’t be reinstated (I don’t see the point as it didn’t work). I hope you guys enjoyed this all the same and I look forward to you reading my decluttering and empties posts coming very soon.

Recently, whilst binging on YouTube beauty videos, I was thinking about how I love beauty haul videos/blog posts and wondered why I never put any on my site. Then I remembered… I purchase a lot of products and usually in small quantities, so I would be creating tonnes of small individual posts.

Since I love seeing massive hauls, I have decided that each month I will show you guys every beauty, skincare and hair product I bought and for the ones I have tried I will add mini reviews.

All these categories apart from beauty products only have a few items in each. Also, this isn’t all of the products that I purchased in the month of January. I just can’t remember some of the items as Christmas and January sales merge together in my memory. Probably my brain trying to make me feel less guilty.

Hair products:

I only have two this month to share, one was a repurchase and the other was a new discovery. The product I repurchased was the Toni & Guy Cleanse dry shampoo and this time I got the 250ml bottle. Before in my empties post I mentioned that this was my favourite dry shampoo. It adds volume, smells fresh and absorbs oil so I had to pick up another one.

The second hair product I bought is the L’Oreal Elvive Colour Protect Low Shampoo 400ml. This was in Fleur de Force’s New in Beauty January video and I was intrigued by it. Basically, a low shampoo is for cleansing your hair and you use it every so often in place of both your shampoo and conditioner. This one is for dry and coloured hair. There is another one that is based off of the extraordinary oil range. So far I have been liking it but it is early days.

Brushes:

I also purchased two brushes in January from BeautyBay: one was the Morphe G42 and the other was the Sigma F80.

The Morphe G42 is a flat contour brush that is densely packed but really soft. You can use this to apply a contour shade in the hollows of your cheeks very precisely and if you use the very edge of the brush you can contour your nose as well. Another common use for this type of brush is to clean up your contour by baking underneath it, and Jaclyn Hill uses this form of brush to apply powder to the sides of her eyes to allow herself to create sharp winged eyeshadow look when she brushes the powder away.

Everyone in the beauty community has heard of the Sigma F80 flat kabuki brush. This is amazing for apply foundation as it gives a seamless flawless finish. I would highly recommend this. The only thing I don’t like about it is that it looks dirty after one use so I am constantly washing it.

Skincare:

Good things seem to be coming in twos in this post. I swear I didn’t realise this until I started to write this. Both of the products are from L’oreal and the first one is the Fine flowers gel-cream wash. I haven’t actually tried this yet because I am finishing up a few cleansers but what sucked me into buying this, other than sale on L’oreal skincare, was that it says on the bottle it is for dry and sensitive skin, contains no soap or alcohol and it contains rose & jasmine. The packaging is really pretty as well so I am excited to try that.

The second item is a product that has been raved about on YouTube, it is the L’Oreal Pure Clay Detox Mask. Although, I have dry skin I am acne and blackhead prone so I am obsessed with charcoal/mud masks. The jar itself is very heavy which I like because it reminds me of luxury skincare brands. I have used this a few times and I am hooked. It doesn’t dry out my skin but leaves it really smooth once I completed my skin care routine. When the mask is on it really drys hard so its difficult to move your face and the product enters your pores so you can see all the impurities being drawn out. Half of me thinks it looks really gross and the other half finds it really satisfying.

Beauty products:

Maybelline ~ I got the matte and poreless foundation after all this time because finally Maybelline released two lighter shades. I purchased the lightest one in the shade 100 warm ivory. This costs £5.99 normally but I got it with the next product I am going to mention in an offer which means I only paid £9.99 for both!

Master Strobing liquid highlighter in light/iridescent is something I have admired on YouTube for a long time and we finally got it in the UK. This is a pinky icy shade and it looks stunning on light skin tones. There are two other shades available in the states and one other available in the UK.

Finally, I bought the colorsensational matte lipstick in 983 Beige Babe after I saw MannyMua obsessing over it at a Maybelline event. The amount of products this month I have bought because of him is insane. It such a beautiful light nude shade and the formula is so super creamy, that I am going to go out and purchase more shades.

Jouer cosmetics ~ When it comes to this brand, if you live in the UK the best way to purchase products from it is on Cult Beauty. I bought two lip cremes to add to the two I already own, the shades I purchased were buff and dulce de leche. I love the formula of these lip cremes, they are smooth, pigmented, have a beautiful shade range and aren’t drying on the lips. I will definitely be picking more up in the future.

The other item I bought was the powder highlighter in Ice. I knew I wanted to buy this the minute I saw it on NikkieTutorials Snapchat. The shade name suits it well, its highly pigmented and buttery and the packaging is beautiful. I wish they would make this in a full size.

KIKO ~During their January sale I picked up one of the smart colour eyeshadows in the shade 13. I believe I paid no more than £3 for it. It is a beautiful light peach shade, that was a purchase inspired by the launch of the Kylie Royal Peach palette. I had been obsessing over the peach shades in that palette but didn’t love the other shades enough to purchase it. This shade, although it is a little powdery and patchy when you swatch it, was the perfect alternative and it blends really nicely.

The other two products I got were the infinity high pigmented eyeshadows in 202 and 236. I hate the packaging of these because the lid can pop off of them so easily, but I think these were less than £2 each in the sale so you get what you pay for. However, the shadows themselves are beautifully soft and pigmented. 202 is a gorgeous champagne shade that I have used for highlight and 236 is a shimmering taupy bronze. I use both of these all over my lid and originally purchased them for a no brainer shadow to throw on for work, but I use them all the time now.

Gerard Cosmetics ~ I purchased these products because of the sale on the BeautyBay website, it is still on so go and check it out.

Supreme lip cream in Wild berry tart: This is such a beautiful berry shade and even the lip product itself has a sweet berry scent. It has a really smooth texture, applies evenly and I will definitely be picking up more shades from the range.

Hydra matte liquid lipsticks in Skinny Dip and Mile High: These two shades are quite similar but mile high is a little darker. I enjoy this formula and I got these two for a little over £8 each which is amazing.

Other brands:

NYX loose banana powder: I wanted to brighten up my under eye area with this powder. However, I think it is a little too yellow for my skin tone. I have only used it twice so I will continue to use it before making a final decision on it.

This was a MannyMua inspired purchase. Since he raves about the Smashbox 24 hour photo finish shadow primer constantly, I had to try it out. All of my purchases inspired by MannyMua have resulted in owning products that I love so I look forward to using this.

I got the Makeup Geek eyeshadow in ‘pocket change’ because I am trying to build a dupe palette for the Kylie Bronze palette (I am having a little difficulty). However, if I do complete building that palette I will do a post on it.

BeautyBay recently started stocking Jeffree Star products including the originally limited edition highlighter in ‘Princess Cut’. This is an absolutely beautiful icy highlighter with a hint of pink and is blinding on the cheeks.

Milani launched the prime perfection face primer, which is supposed to be hydrating and pore minimising and is oil free. Those two claims in a primer don’t usually mix but I am really enjoying this one! It hydrates the skin but still minimises pores well. Not as much as the Porefessional by Benefit but that one dries out my skin, so its a comprise. So if you have dry skin but need a pore minimising primer, definitely check this out cause its only £10.00.

Bourjois rouge edition velvet in the shade 10 ‘Don’t pink of it!’ This was a completely random purchase and I haven’t trialled the formula yet. It is a perfect everyday mid toned pink shade though.

That was the final product that I purchased in the month of January. I know that this is a lot of makeup to accumulate, especially in a one month period, but this is what I love. Please let me know in the comment section if you want more in depth reviews of any of these products.

Today’s post is going to be on the items I bought myself and received for my 18th Birthday. I am so grateful for all the gifts I received and for having so many loving people in my life. It is a shame I feel like I have to include this disclaimer but I will just in case. Disclaimer: I am not trying to brag about anything I have received for my birthday or items that I purchased. If you do not like these sorts of posts then please click off of this page now.

Gifts:

All of my gifts from my parents were either from Amazon.co.uk or BeautyBay. From Amazon my parents bought me a set of apple headphones to replace my old broken ones, a “Keep calm and bin it” bin because I was making a mess after my old one got thrown away lol and a clear acrylic organiser from byAlegory. I had been admiring the organiser online and in makeup collection videos on YouTube for quite some time, it truly does save you a lot of space as it stores 8 compacts.

My mum understands my obsession with makeup well and took to BeautyBay to get me products that you cannot purchase in the UK. I hope to update you guys with reviews of each of these products once I have had a proper chance to experiment with them.

L.A Girl Pro concealer in porcelain – This concealer seems to be in everyone’s collection and I have been meaning to get my hands on it for quite some time. So I am hoping that this is going to be a good edition to my collection.

Gerard cosmetics lipstick in buttercup – This is another brand that I have never tried before but I’ve heard great things about. I love the fact that it is cruelty free and is packaged beautifully. I have worn this once since I got it and so far I really like it. It doesn’t dry out my lips and it feels creamy when applied. I will keep you guys updated with my thoughts.

Makeup Geek single eyeshadows – These were my main gift from BeautyBay as my parents bought me 8 shades! Makeup Geek has been a brand I have wanted for so long and these were my first ever items from them. The shades I got were: peach smoothie, shimma shimma, sorbet, petal pusher, bitten, cocoa bear, beaches and cream and creme brulee. Again, I have used these once and I am incredibly impressed. They are pigmented, blendable and the shade range is amazing. I highly recommend these eyeshadows.

Anastasia Beverly Hills clear brow gel mini – This mini brow gel was a free gift from BeautyBay. I love this brand because the quality is always great and its cruelty free. This gel sets your eyebrow like concrete they will not budge all day long. I already have the full size of this and I swear by it. So this mini will be great for when I travel.

My final gift was from my Grandma and she bought me the new volume colourist mascara by Rimmel London. This mascara claims to provide volume whilst gradually tinting your lashes within two weeks. After getting my eyebrows tinted by Benefit Cosmetics, I intrigued to see if a product from the drugstore can do that for my lashes.

Haul:

Firstly, I got four items on my Birthday from Superdrug. My hair dye was on offer so I picked one up and it has a new colour extender included. I am interested to see whether this actually improves the longevity and appearance of my colour or not.

Next, I purchased two items from the brand Biore. The charcoal pore strips, which was a repurchase, and the baking soda cleansing scrub. I bought the scrub because it claims to never over-scrub due to it naturally dissolving and claims to leave skin visibly smoother in one week. I will be sure to give my thoughts on this product once I have trialled it properly and for a review of the pore strips please see my last post.

The one makeup product I bought at the store was the Sleek matte me lip cream in shabby chic. Sleek launched this not too long ago as part of their new shade range of lip creams. Since I was a fan of the original line I knew I had to have one, especially since the new range was all berry/fall shades. As I mentioned on Instagram, the applicator of the new range is shorter than the original but I still have to compare the formulas.

I also made two separate online makeup orders. The first was on the Jeffree Star Cosmetics website. I had been stalking all the accounts on Instagram to find out about the latest restocks/launches and purchased my first ever Jeffree Star product. I bought the velour liquid lipstick in the shade mannequin which was launched on 6th June at 10am PST time, I had completed my checkout at 10:01 lol. I was determined not to miss out and after receiving it today it is clear this won’t be my last purchase from this brand.

Finally, I purchased three items from BeautyBay. Firstly, I got a zebra print large Z palette to put my Makeup Geek eyeshadows in (as seen below). The three small shadows in the corner are depotted Revlon ones and one depotted House of colour one. That leads to my second purchase which was round metal stickers x30. I’m gonna be honest I bought these because I didn’t realise that the makeup geek eyeshadows were magnetic, after I tried them in my MAC palette and it didn’t work, so that is what these were for. Lastly, round metal pans x10 as I wanted to press some of my MAC pigments. The one shown in the palette is two pans of Rose pigment.

That is the end of the haul part 1. There is going to be a part two because on 15th June, I would have done beauty haul in London and I have one more online order to arrive from Kylie Cosmetics!